The present disclosure relates generally to a vehicle security partition which forms a barrier between the front and rear occupant areas of a vehicle. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to support structures and mounting devices for vehicle partitions.
Vehicle partitions are often utilized to separate the front and rear occupant areas of vehicles, such as police cars and taxi cabs, in order to prevent access to the front occupant area by someone located in the rear occupant area. These partitions typically include a dividing panel located between the front and rear occupant areas which forms a barrier between the front and rear occupant areas.
Many vehicles typically used in law enforcement are now equipped with side air bags. One category of side air bags is designed to reduce the risk of injury to an occupant's head and/or neck in the event of an accident. When triggered to deploy, these side air bags inflate to occupy spaces located generally along the inner side surfaces of the vehicle, including the side windows and frame members. These side air bags deploy in an effort to prevent or lessen injury from an occupant's impact with these surfaces.
Certain side air bags loosely resemble a curtain window covering (referred to as “side curtain air bags”). Side curtain air bags can be designed to extend substantially the length of the interior, and particularly the length of the front and rear windows, when deployed. These side curtain air bags can extend from an area near the forward end of the front window rearward past the center pillar (often called the B-pillar, i.e., the portion of the body separating the front and rear doors), along the rear door and in some cases, beyond the rear door. Side curtain air bags are typically configured to deploy from the roof of the vehicle above the side windows. Other side air bags may be designed to deploy from the seats.
Conventional partitions have surrounding frames designed to fit closely to the sides and roof of the vehicles to reduce the chance that an occupant in the rear occupant area can reach around the partition with his hand or an implement to reach the front occupant area. Proper functioning of side curtain air bags, however, typically requires unrestricted spaces adjacent to the windows and the B-pillar to allow full inflation upon deployment.
According to an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, a security partition for use in a vehicle having side curtain air bags is shown. The partition includes a frame. The frame in combination with the vehicle defines a cavity. The side curtain air bags are configured to deploy and occupy the cavity. A side wing is configured to be fastened to the frame. The side wing includes a body, and an air bag director. The plane of the air bag director is angled relative to the plane of the body.
According to a further illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, a security partition for use in a vehicle having side curtain air bags includes a frame, wherein the frame in combination with the vehicle defines a cavity. The side curtain air bag is configured to deploy and occupy the cavity. A plurality of bendable mounting brackets each include a first mounting flange, a second mounting flange, and an arm connecting the first mounting flange with the second mounting flange. The first mounting flange is secured to the frame. A side wing includes a body, an air bag director angled relative to the body, and a mounting ledge angled relative to the body. The second mounting flange of each of the mounting brackets is secured to the mounting ledge of the side wing.
According to another illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, a side wing assembly for use with a security partition in a vehicle includes a plurality of bendable mounting brackets including a first mounting flange, a second mounting flange, and an arm connecting the first mounting flange with the second mounting flange. A side wing includes a body, an air bag director angled relative to the body, and a mounting ledge angled relative to the body. An extension extends from the body and is configured to contact a B-pillar of the vehicle and includes a seat belt notch for providing clearance for a seat belt assembly associated with the B-pillar. The second mounting flange of each of the mounting brackets is secured to the mounting ledge of the side wing.